When Donkeys Fly: An Ad Campaign Gone Awry

Say you're an entrepreneur trying to sell parasailing trips at the beach, but advertisements aren't working. What do you do? Attach a screaming donkey to a parachute and let it drift, because nothing says "beach getaway" like a tortured animal.

At least that was the bright idea hatched by a group of Russian businessmen last week along the Sea of Azov in the southern Krasnodar region of Russia. The donkey was attached to a parachute and circled the skies above the village of Golubitskaya, kicking and screaming along the way, in an attempt to promote parasailing at a private beach. Naturally, beachgoers were horrified. A local police official told AFP, "The donkey screamed and children cried. No-one had the brains to call police." And according the Russian newspaper Taman, "The donkey landed in an atrocious manner: it was dragged several metres along the water, after which the animal was pulled out half-alive onto the shore."